Wristband for watches



July 1962 c; STRADELLA 3,042,277

WRISTBAND FOR WATCHES Filed May 5, 1959 2 Sheets-g 1 July 3, 1962 STRADELLA 3,042,277

WRISTBAND FOR WATCHES Filed May 5, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,042,277 WRISTBAND FOR WATCHES Giuseppe Stradella, Recco, Province of Genoa, Italy, assignor to S.p.A. De Marchi Frattelii, Turin, Italy Filed May 5, 1959, Ser. No. 811,062 Claims priority, application Italy May 9, 1958 2 Claims. (Cl. 2244) This invention relates to a non-elastic metallic wristband adjustable in effective length including a safety closure, more particularly for watches.

The object of this invention is to provide a wristband of the type referred to, which is rapidly adjustable in length to suit the size of the wrist without requiring any modification or replacement of component parts, the outer appearance of the wristband being left unaltered. The range of adjustment is sufliciently wide to suit the Wristband to any wrist size with one wristband type only.

A further object of this invention is to provide a wristband which can be made of inexpensive or valuable metal, at will.

The main feature of the improved wristband resides in the fact that the wristband is made up of two sections of definite length provided at one end with means for attachment to the watch and at their opposite end with means for attachment to either side of a safety closure, said means enabling adjustment in length of the wristband. Said means comprises at least one projection on the end of each wristband section and a number of seats on either side of the closure, adapted to receive said projection. Means is further provided for holding the projection in engagement in the seats.

The invention shall now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings which show by way of a non-limiting example some embodiments thereof.

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the wristband,

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the middle wristband portion at the region of the means for adjustment in length and of the safety closure,

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view similar to FIGURE 2, the wristband being open,

FIGURE 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the attachment means enabling adjustment in length of the Wristband,

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view showing the attachment means adjustable in length according to a first modified construction,

'FIGURES 6 and 7 are perspective views of two further modifications of the means for attachment and adjustment of the wristband,

FIGURE 8 is a view from below of one wristband end adapted to be connected with a fitting on the watch,

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale on line IXIX of FIGURE 8 and FIGURE 10 shows a modification of FIGURE 8.

Referring to FIGURES 1-4, 1 denotes two sections of the wristband of definite length, each provided at one end with a cylindrical bush 2 arranged with :a transverse axis, serving for attachment to a fitting on the watch. The wristband sections 1 are provided at their opposite ends 3 with a projection 4 adapted to become engaged by any of the slits 5 cut in plate-shaped extensions 6 fast with the two sides of the safety closure interconnecting the sections 1 of the wristband.

At the region of engagement of each ferrule 3 with the associated plate 6 a cover 7 is arranged, said cover having flanks 8 and intured edges 9 conferring to the cover a substantially U-shaped cross section. The covers 7 are capable of longitudinal displacement with respect to the ferrules 3 of the wristband and plates 6, which they hold close together preventing the projections 4 from release from the slits 5.

The wristband can be adjusted in length rapidly without any modification of the component parts by varying the position of engagement of the projection 4 on each ferrule in the slits 5 in the associated plates 6 upon displacement of the cover 7. The range of adjustment is such that one type of wristband can be suited to any wrist size.

The covers 7 are formed on the extension of the flanks 8 with tongues 10 which are bent inwardly after accurately adjusting the wristband in length, as shown in FIGURE 1, in order to lock the covers 7 in contact with either side of the safety closure, preventing any displacement of the formers.

The covers 7 can alternatively be in the form of tubular elements having a closed rectangular cross section.

The safety closure comprises two elements each securely fixed to its respective plate 6. One element is in the form of a fork 11 having a bridge piece or pin 12 interconnecting the ends of the two fork branches, the other element being in the form of a cylindrical hook shaped socket 13 having a transverse axis, open at the top at 14 at one generatrix. The cylindrical socket 13 encloses a cylindrical latch member 15 which is open at 16 at a generatrix and is provided with a tongue 17 extending through an opening 18 cut in the cylindrical socket 113. A clip 19 bent to U shape is arranged around the tongue 17, and matches in thickness the fork 11.

The cylindrical latch member 15 is therefore of a forked cross-sectional shape and is capable of rotational displacement within the socket 13 in such manner that at one end of its movement the mouth 16 registers with the mouth 14 in the socket (FIG. 3). In this position the two elements of the safety closure can be interconnected by fitting the bridge piece 12 carried by the fork 11 through the mouths 14 and 16, thereby connecting together the two elements of the closure. The latch member 15 is thereupon rotated to move the tongue 17 into the fork 11, thereby retaining the bridge piece 12. In this position the end of the tongue 17 snaps into a notch 20 cut in the fork 11 and is thereby retained in the closed position.

According to the modification shown in FIGURE 5, the ferrules 3 of the two Wristband sections are each formed with a pair of ridges 4 preferably of dovetailshaped cross section, the two elements of the safety closure each carrying a devided case made up of two sections 21, 22 of U-shaped cross section, hinged to each other at their flanks about pivots 23. The halves 21, 22 are formed on their inside with transverse grooves 24 for engagement of the ridge 4 on the wristband ferrules. The case half 22 is provided with spring hooks 25 adapted to snap over projections 26 provided on the case half 21 in order to interconnect both halves in the closed position holding the ridge 4 in a selected transverse groove 24. The wristband is adjusted in length by causing the ridges 4 to engage into any of the transverse grooves 24 upon opening the case 21, 22.

According to the modification shown in FIGURE 6, the ferrules on the wristband are formed with a pair of dovetail-shaped or rectangular ridges 4 engaged by a transverse groove 28 within parallelepiped cases 27 securedly fixed to the two elements of the safety closure. The cases 27 are open to introduce the wristband ferrule. 011 the open flank a lid 29 is mounted for oscillation about a spring-biassed retractable pivot 39 which is capable of exerting a sufiicient pressure for normally holding the lid in its closed position.

According to the modification shown in FIGURE 7 the ferrules on the wristband and the elements of the safety closure are in the form of parallelepiped forward- 1y open cases of cross-sectional shapes such that they can fit telescopically into each other. The ferrule 31 encloses a leaf spring 32 bent to U shape held in position by a pin 33 fitted into the ferrule. One spring branch is formed at its end with a ridge 34 arranged on the lower side of the wristband.

The case 35 of the safety closure has cut in its lower face slits 36 for engagement in an adjustable position of the ridge 34 carried by the spring.

FIGURES 8 and 9 show means for suiting the wristband ends to the attachment means on the watch. Said means comprises a pair of bolts 37 inserted into each of the transverse bushes 2. on the wristband, which can be spaced as required by the width of the fitting on the watch. An opening 38 is cut in the lower portion of the cylindrical bush 2 on the wristband and forms serrations 39. Two teeth thereof are inturned after suitable adjustment in position of the bolts 37 in order to hold the bolts in their proper position and keep them against inward displacement.

According to the modification shown in FIGURE the bolts 37 are held in position by inserting spacing rings 40 of suitable thickness between the bolt heads and bush 2.

What I claim is:

1. In a wristband for watches including two sections provided each at one end with means for attachment to the watch and at its opposite end with a safety closure component, one of the said safety closure components comprising a fork-shaped section including a transverse pin bracing the arms of the fork; and the other of the said safety closure components comprising a socket having a circumferential wall cylindrically curved into hookshape to provide a mouth, an aperture in said circumferential wall, a cylindrical latch member rotatable in the socket, the said latch member being forked in its crosssectional profile to provide a mouth and including a radial tongue outwardly extending through the said aperture, said aperture having circumferentially spaced ends thereby to limit the rotational displacement of the latch member in the socket between a condition in which the mouth of the forked latch member is aligned with the mouth of the socket to thereby receive the said pin, and a condition wherein a branch of the forked latch member projects over and blocks the mouth of the socket while a portion of said socket wall blocks the mouth of the latch member and the tongue is located between the arms of the said fork-shaped section, a notch in a bottom part of the fork-shaped section snappingly receiving the said tongue in the last named condition, and a clip covering the tongue matching in thickness the thickness of the fork-shaped section thereby filling the space between the said arms of the fork in the last named condition.

2. In a wristband for watches including two sections provided each at one end with means for attachment to the watch and at its opposite end with a safety closure component, one of the said safety closure components comprising a fork-shaped section including a transverse pin bracing the arms of the fork; and the other of the said safety closure components comprising a socket having a circumferential wall cylindrically curved into hookshape to provide a mouth, an aperture in said circumferential wall, a cylindrical latch member rotatable in the socket, the said latch member being forked in its cross-sectional profile to provide a mouth and including a radial tongue outwardly extending through the said aperture, said aperture having circumferentially spaced ends thereby to limit the rotational displacement of the latch member in the socket between a condition in which the mouth of the forked latch member is aligned with the mouth of the socket to thereby receive the said pin, and a condition wherein a branch of the forked latch member projects over and blocks the mouth of the socket while a portion of said socket wall blocks the mouth of the latch member and the tongue is locatedbetween the arms of the said fork-shaped section, a notch in a bottom part of the fork-shaped section snappingly receiving the said tongue in the last named condition, two plate-shaped extensions integral with the fork-shaped section and socket respectively in a mutually superposed relationship with respective ones of said opposite end portions of the wristband, a plurality of notches in each extension spaced in a direction lengthwise of the wristband, a projection on each of the said respective end portions each projection being selectively engageable in one of the said plurality of notches on the associated extension thereby to vary the effective length of the Wristband, and means on each extension retaining its respective extension and end portion in the said notch engaged mutually superposed relationship.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 302,437 Simmons July 22, 1884 1,131,682 Depollier Mar. 16, 1915 1,467,465 Weidmann Sept. 11, 1923 1,532,632 Newman Apr. 7, 1925 1,692,511 Mix Nov. 20, 1928 1,767,529 Jones June 24, 1930 1,785,522 Matthes Dec. 16, 1930 2,148,263 Duerr Feb. 21, 1939 2,180,534 Levesque Nov, 21, 1939 2,412,812 Karasik Dec. 17, 1946 2,510,938 Boots June 6, 1950 2,648,114 Holtz et a1. Aug. 11, 1953 2,650,398 Bangs Sept. 1, 1953 2,663,924 Albrecht Dec. 29, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 263,358 Switzerland Nov. 16, 1949 984,186 France Feb. 21, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,042,277 July 3, 1961 Giuseppe Stradella It is hereby certified that error a ppears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that t corrected below.

In the grant, lin

es 2 and 12 and in the heading to the printed specification line 4, name of assignee, for "S.p.A De Marchi Frattelli each occurrence, read S.p.A. De Marchi Fratelli Signed and sealed this 18th day of December 1962.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST w. SWIDER DAVID LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

